John Cena dodges Vince McMahon question at ‘Money in the Bank’ press conference

As he took the podium following WWE’s Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, John Cena answered a series of questions about his impending retirement.

But despite “The Greatest of All Time” insisting that nothing in the press conference was off limits, one question seemingly hit too close to home as a reporter asked about his relationship with disgraced former WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

“This might be a difficult question for you to answer,” POST Wrestling’s John Pollock began his question.

“Let’s lean into it,” Cena replied. “Let’s give it a try.”

“Obviously, when people are reflecting on your career, it’s very hard to separate your career and Vince McMahon,” Pollock continued. “And I want to know now that you have had a lot of time to reconcile what has been alleged against Vince McMahon, can you tell me what he has meant to your career and also how you have kind of processed what has come out the last few of years?”

“Surely, an uncomfortable question,” Cena conceded, before doing his best to avoid directly answering it.

“Man, I really would much rather talk about what’s ahead of us and that’s really important,” he continued. “I’ve been pretty honest with my opinion to answer that question — and if you didn’t see it, I know you can dig it up somewhere.

“But I think we’re on the precipice of something pretty special. And as the business evolves and continues to evolve, damn, it’s in pretty good hands with the TKO folks. So I am happy to be where I’m at. Again, I think if you want that information, you dig hard enough, you can find it. Thank you, though. Appreciate the courage.”

“I would really would much rather talk about what’s ahead of us”

– John Cena answering what Vince McMahon means to his career. pic.twitter.com/CaIgUSj2W8

— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) July 7, 2024

So much for leaning into it.

As for that previous answer Cena referred to, there’s likely a reason he didn’t want to repeat it on WWE airwaves. Appearing on The Howard Stern Show in February, the 16-time world champion gave a more thorough explanation of his feelings toward McMahon, who has been accused of (and is being federally investigated for) sexual misconduct, including assault and trafficking.

“I don’t think it’s complicated to talk about. It’s complicated to listen to. That’s why I don’t necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it. There’s still a long way to go,” Cena said, per Fightful. “I can say this, I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty, and communication, in the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability. If someone’s behavior lies so far outside of your value system that the balance shifts of, ‘I can’t operate in a world where this works.’ That’s the end result of being accountable.

“Right now, I’m gonna love the person I love, be their friend. ‘I love you, you have a hill to climb.’ There is the saying of, ‘You don’t know who your friends are until s*** hits the fan or your back is against the wall.’ That doesn’t make any of what’s going on any easier to swallow. Just telling someone you love them, it’s a hill to climb, and we’ll see what happens.’

“That’s that. It sounds so cliché, but it has to be one day at a time. I’ve openly said, I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy, and that’s that. It’s largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement.

“The whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience that I have. Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say, ‘How can I help?’

Cena was correct in saying that he has answered Pollock’s question before — or at least a variation of it — and it’s perfectly valid for him to point to that answer if that’s how he still feels. It was also a more than fair question to be asked nearly five months later, with Pollock even noting the time that has passed that may have allowed Cena to further reflect on his feelings on the matter.

As we’ve written before, the pro wrestling media seemingly exists in a strange place between reality and fiction and that’s especially evident in post-show press conferences, which WWE has only started hosting in recent years. While Cena was attempting to portray himself as being out of character, there were certainly many elements of his press conference that felt like they were still a part of the show, even as he encouraged reporters to ask him anything and everything.

While most media members in the room responded with relative softballs — what advice would he give the younger wrestlers on the roster? What new opponents does he want to face during his retirement tour? Etc. — Pollock was seemingly the only reporter to actually take him up on his offer. Cena replied by avoiding actually answering the question, which is every bit his right — just as it was Pollock’s right to ask the question in the first place.

[WWE]